Otago-Southland News

News related to Freezing Works, Oamaru gasworks dispute, Great Outdoors Company and freezing workers wage

Otago-Southland News

News related to Freezing Works, Oamaru gasworks dispute, Great Outdoors Company and freezing workers wage

A survey of academic staff attitudes towards the system of academic titles used in New Zealand universities

This report presents the results of a survey of academic staff at New Zealand universities to determine their attitudes towards a change in academic titles from the current British system to the US system. A questionnaire was developed and sent to a stratified random sample of 1340 academic staff selected from the 7 universities in New Zealand. A total of 671 valid responses was received. The responses were analysed statistically by university, faculty, designation, qualifications, gender, age and overseas experience. The comments were also analysed qualitatively. The overall results indicated that 44% of the respondents preferred the current system of titles, 39% preferred the alternative US system and 17% did not have a preference. However, the differences between the preferences for the two systems were not significant at the 95% ( or 90%) confidence level. The analysis by university revealed that although academic staff at Auckland and Victoria Universities generally preferred the alternative US system and academic staff at Canterbury, Lincoln and Otago Universities generally preferred the current system of academic titles, only responses from Massey and Waikato Universities indicated a statistically significant preference for the current system. Staff in the "professional" faculties (eg Agriculture, Commerce and Law) generally preferred the alternative US system, compared with academics from the more "traditional" academic areas (eg Humanities/Arts and Social Sciences) who tended to prefer the current British system. However, the only statistically significant differences were recorded by Medical/Dental academic staff who overwhelmingly indicated a preference for the current system. The results also indicated that staff who were born or had their main overseas academic experiences in Commonwealth countries (eg NZ, Australia and UK) tended to prefer the current British system of academic titles, whereas staff who were born or had their main overseas academic experiences in generally non-Commonwealth countries (eg in Asia, Europe (excl. UK) and North America) preferred the alternative US system. Professors and assistant/junior lecturers showed a statistically significant preference for the current system whereas, overall, senior lecturers tended to prefer the alternative system (although not statistically significant). Generally the results indicate that there is not a majority support for either the British or the US systems of academic titles and there is a considerable level of dissatisfaction with the current system. Consequently it is concluded that more research needs to be undertaken to determine the best system of academic titles and salary scales for academic staff at New Zealand universities

Effectiveness of automated locomotor training in patients with acute incomplete spinal cord injury: A randomized controlled multicenter trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A large proportion of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) regain ambulatory function. However, during the first 3 months most of the patients are not able to walk unsupported. To enable ambulatory training at such an early stage the body weight is partially relieved and the leg movements are assisted by two therapists. A more recent approach is the application of robotic based assistance which allows for longer training duration. From motor learning science and studies including patients with stroke, it is known that training effects depend on the duration of the training. Longer trainings result in a better walking function. The aim of the present study is to evaluate if prolonged robot assisted walking training leads to a better walking outcome in patients with incomplete SCI and whether such training is feasible or has undesirable effects.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Patients from multiple sites with a subacute incomplete SCI and who are not able to walk independently will be randomized to either standard training (3-5 sessions per week, session duration maximum 25 minutes) or an intensive training (3-5 sessions per week, session duration minimum 50 minutes). After 8 weeks of training and 4 months later the walking ability, the occurrence of adverse events and the perceived rate of exertion as well as the patients' impression of change will be compared between groups.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01147185">NCT01147185</a>.</p

Reclaimed and Up-Cycled Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

As electric vehicles become more widely used, there is a higher demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and hence a greater incentive to find better ways to recycle these at their end-of-life (EOL). This work focuses on the process of reclamation and re-use of cathode material from LIBs. Black mass containing mixed LiMn2O4 and Ni0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 from a Nissan Leaf pouch cell are recovered via two different recycling routes, shredding or disassembly. The waste material stream purity is compared for both processes, less aluminium and copper impurities are present in the disassembled waste stream. The reclaimed black mass is further treated to reclaim the transition metals in a salt solution, Ni, Mn, Co ratios are adjusted in order to synthesize an upcycled cathode, LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 via a co-precipitation method. The two reclamation processes (disassembly and shredding) are evaluated based on the purity of the reclaimed material, the performance of the remanufactured cell, and the energy required for the complete process. The electrochemical performance of recycled material is comparable to that of as-manufactured cathode material, indicating no detrimental effect of purified recycled transition metal content. This research represents an important step toward scalable approaches to the recycling of EOL cathode material in LIBs

News and Views

News covering Wellington, Otago-Southland, Aucklan

News and Views

News covering Wellington, Otago-Southland, Aucklan

Cognitive processes underlying lottery and sports gambling decisions: the role of stated probabilities and background knowledge

Two studies compared choice and underlying cognitive processes in equivalent decision tasks involving risk and uncertainty (lotteries versus sports gambles including displayed expert probability judgments). In sports gambles, background knowledge was triggered via information on team location, home or away. Otherwise, displayed risk information (stake, winnings, odds and outcome probabilities) was controlled across gamble type. In a choice study, home win bets were chosen significantly more frequently than draws or away wins, compared to lottery equivalents. In a parallel study eliciting concurrent verbal protocols, participants made fewer evaluations of odds and probabilities, and more statements involving background knowledge in sports gambles. Furthermore, some sports gamble protocols indicated modifications of stated probabilities and decision strategies contingent on domain knowledge. It was concluded that stated probability revision and knowledge-based reasoning are key cognitive processes in sports gambling not normally applied in the lottery paradigms often employed in decision research

Co-enrollment of critically ill patients into multiple studies: patterns, predictors and consequences

Abstract Introduction Research on co-enrollment practices and their impact are limited in the ICU setting. The objectives of this study were: 1) to describe patterns and predictors of co-enrollment of patients in a thromboprophylaxis trial, and 2) to examine the consequences of co-enrollment on clinical and trial outcomes. Methods In an observational analysis of an international thromboprophylaxis trial in 67 ICUs, we examined the co-enrollment of critically ill medical-surgical patients into more than one study, and examined the clinical and trial outcomes among co-enrolled and non-co-enrolled patients. Results Among 3,746 patients enrolled in PROTECT (Prophylaxis for ThromboEmbolism in Critical Care Trial), 713 (19.0%) were co-enrolled in at least one other study (53.6% in a randomized trial, 37.0% in an observational study and 9.4% in both). Six factors independently associated with co-enrollment (all P 10 years' experience compared to persons with none), center size (all ORs > 10 for ICUs with > 15 beds), affiliation with trials groups (OR 5.59, 3.49 to 8.95), and main trial rather than pilot phase (all ORs > 8 for recruitment year beyond the pilot). Co-enrollment did not influence clinical or trial outcomes or risk of adverse events. Conclusions Co-enrollment was strongly associated with features of the patients, research personnel, setting and study. Co-enrollment had no impact on trial results, and appeared safe, acceptable and feasible. Transparent reporting, scholarly discourse, ethical analysis and further research are needed on the complex topic of co-enrollment during critical illness